SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

March 1 - 7, 2004

WEATHER SUMMARY

Cloudy skies and mild weather started what would become a Spring-like week. A few showers were observed along the southern counties on Monday but amounts were light. The persistent flow of maritime, tropical air brought scattered showers to the upstate also on Tuesday. A large area of warm air on Wednesday pushed further north bringing widespread 80 degree temperatures over the state. Flowering of ground bulbs appeared along with light pollen counts. This pattern continued into the weekend. Passing light rains were noted mid-day Saturday before skies became partly cloudy with sunshine ending the day. Sunday started mild and sunny with afternoon high temperatures peaking in the upper 70's. A strong cold front raced through the state around sunset with winds gusting between 40 and 60 mph. There were reports of downed trees, power disruptions, and light property damage. Brief rain showers accompanied the front but were limited to the northernmost counties. The average statewide temperature for the period was 12 degrees above normal.

The state's highest reported temperature was 85 degrees at Jamestown on March 3. The lowest temperature reported was 34 degrees at Chester on the morning of March 1. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.84" at Lake Bowen ending at 7:00 a.m. on March 3. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.0.”